Forty-five years ago, Dr. Harvey Bratt ’48 served as the physician
of Calvin’s student health services, spending one hour a day, five
days a week, providing health care for a student body that numbered 1,900.
He was assisted by one nurse in the health services office that was located
in the basement of the men’s dormitory on the Franklin campus. Today,
a staff of ten — primarily nurse practitioners — cares for
Calvin’s student body of 4,300. Today, for 4,300 students, three
full-time nurse practitioners offer a broad range of primary care services,
including women's health exams and smoking cessation. A physical therapist
provides on-site services, and mental health care is coordinated with
the Broene Counseling Center. Several local physicians spend a total of
six hours per week managing more complicated problems. The college has
changed, and Dr. Bratt has closely observed its transformation.

But health services are not the only changes he has noticed at Calvin.
Vitality of the campus and lively integration of faith, learning and living
are what Dr. Bratt believes to be the most significant changes. He says,
“Calvin wasn’t like this when I was a student. For instance,
devotions before basketball practices were never even considered.”
Today, daily chapel services that are voluntary and well attended, special
Sunday evening LOFT services, Bible study groups on each floor of the
dorms, and service-learning projects reside at the heart of the campus
community. This is the Calvin he says is “very different,”
and why he believes it is “a special place today.”

Dr. Bratt and his wife, Phyllis, have a bird’s-eye view of the
college. Currently, four of their grandchildren are students at Calvin,
five grandchildren have graduated from the college, and their children
— four each — are Calvin alumni. Phyllis’ son, William,
is a professor of history at Calvin.

Living near the college, they are very appreciative of the many interesting
events available to them on campus, including basketball. Both were widowed
in 1992, were introduced to each other at a Calvin basketball game, and
were married in December 1994.

Health ServicesMeet the current staff and find out more about services
provided to Calvin students

In addition to resident grandchildren at Calvin, the Bratts have another
Calvin connection. They mentor a young pre-medical student from Jos, Nigeria.
He is also a recipient of the Dr. and Mrs. Harvey J. Bratt Medical Scholarship
that Dr. Bratt and his late wife, Fran, established in 1988.

Phyllis VanVugt Bratt has also established a scholarship at Calvin. She
and her children recently created a named scholarship in memory of her
late husband, Ernest, who was a professor of Latin and classical mythology
at Calvin from 1955 to 1977, then Calvin’s registrar until his retirement
in 1987. The scholarship honors Professor Van Vugt for “pioneering
the teaching of classical mythology and leading a generation of young
people to grasp the value of ancient wisdom in the formation of a Christian
mind.”

Today, five Calvin students are recipients of the scholarships Harvey
and Phyllis Bratt and their families have established.

The Bratts, who enthusiastically acknowledge that their lives have been
— and continue to be — filled with blessings, have dedicated
their lifetimes to caring for others. Phyllis served as a nurse, and for
many years was the director of nurses at a healthcare facility in Grandville,
Mich. Harvey practiced general surgery in Grand Rapids, and interspersed
this with short-term medical missions to Nigeria, Rwanda and several places
in the Carribean and Central America. Although retired, he serves as a
volunteer medical consultant to Christian Reformed World Missions and
visits his office there for a couple of hours each day.

The impact Calvin has had on them and on their families has prompted
the Bratts to support the college in two special ways: first, with named
scholarships that provide financial assistance for Calvin students today;
and second, with a planned gift in their will. Because Dr. and Mrs. Bratt
want Calvin College to continue to provide Christ-centered education for generations of young people, they have made the
college a significant beneficiary of their estate. They want future Calvin
alumni to fulfill the mission of the college and, through their kingdom
service, to give back to God.